What would you say if you were asked what the purpose of human life is? What biblical text or truth would you use?
If you had ever learned Keach’s Catechism, a Baptist catechism published in 1693, an answer would probably come to mind as soon as you heard the question:
- Question 2: What is the chief end of man?
- Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
A catechism is a brief systematic theology presented in a question-and-answer format. The succinct style makes the theological truths of a catechism as easy to memorize as possible. The answers of a catechism are taken from careful, systematic Bible study. A full catechism will contain Scripture references for each answer.
While for many people “catechism” is a dusty word associated with Catholicism, question-and-answer catechisms were actually developed by the first generations of Protestant reformers. As they worked with Christians who were largely uneducated, pastors like Martin Luther and John Calvin developed catechisms to help Christians understand the essential truths of their faith. Pastors like Benjamin Keach, John Broadus and Charles Spurgeon also developed catechisms that taught specifically Baptist distinctives.
“The two most important things any church can do,” said Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, “are first to share the gospel with lost people — evangelism. The second most important thing is to pass off the Christian faith to the next generation. … Catechesis is meant to be the process of teaching the faith to a younger generation in a way that does not compromise the faith.”
Catechesis — the process of teaching catechisms to children — does not create saving faith. Kathy Keller, the wife of Tim Keller, who serves as pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City, described it as “laying the kindling and logs in the fireplace, so that when the spark of the Holy Spirit ignites your child’s heart there will be a steady, mature blaze.”
While education by catechism is vanishingly rare among Southern Baptists today, it does occur. Todd Wilson, pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church, Hoover, said the church has employed catechesis in its teaching for the seven-and-a-half years he has served as its pastor. Grace Covenant Baptist uses “The [Westminster] Shorter Catechism: A Baptist Version” and, for children, the “Truth and Grace Memory Book” children’s catechism from Founders Press.
“The beauty of the catechism … is it’s really a systematic theology being set forth in biblical teaching,” Wilson said.
Wilson encourages his Sunday School teachers to use the catechism as a supplement to the Bible lessons they teach children. Connecting a story to a theological truth the children have already memorized reinforces the lesson, he said.
“The Bible itself is the most important thing,” he said. “Any way we can use to get biblical truth into the children’s hearts is worthwhile.”
Parents at Grace Covenant have provided “nothing but encouragement” about the church’s use of catechism in children’s education, Wilson said.
He also references the catechism in his preaching from time to time. He recently used the question given at the beginning of this story in a sermon on John 5, in which the Jews accuse Jesus of making Himself equal to God. Wilson used the catechism question to discuss how, since Jesus is part of the Trinity, glorifying Him is a necessary part of glorifying God.
While historically catechesis has been part of both Calvinistic and Arminian Baptist churches, virtually all the most famous catechisms have Calvinistic teaching about God’s election. Since Baptist churches hold that each congregation, under the teaching of the Bible and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, has the right to determine what it believes, George encouraged individual churches to appoint “godly, well-trained, biblical leaders” to develop catechisms that reflect their beliefs. However, he said, an association or a broader group could develop a catechism for individual Baptist churches to use.
An extensive list of historical Baptist catechisms can be found at www.reformedreader.org/ccc/bcat.htm. “The Shorter Catechism: A Baptist Version” and the “Truth and Grace Memory Book” set can be ordered through Grace & Truth Books.
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